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FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington and his chief of staff, Gavin Wax, called for a DOGE-style restructuring of the Federal Communications Commission in a May 2025 Daily Caller opinion article. Their proposals included reducing or reshaping Universal Service Fund programs, directing more broadband support toward satellite and fixed wireless, automating routine license applications, and moving staff away from the Media Bureau.
The article was an opinion piece—not an FCC rule, commission order, or funding decision. Its most controversial implication was that a shift toward satellite broadband could benefit Starlink, operated by SpaceX, whose leader Elon Musk was closely associated with the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency initiative.
What Simington and Wax proposed
The op-ed, titled “It’s Time For Trump To DOGE The FCC,” argued that the agency should reduce spending, eliminate functions the authors consider outdated or duplicative, automate administrative work, and redirect staff toward areas they view as more important.
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According to contemporaneous reporting by Ars Technica and a Benton Institute digest, the recommendations included:
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- Reducing or restructuring the Universal Service Fund and related mandates.
- Reconsidering support for Lifeline, E-Rate, and telecommunications relay services.
- Shifting some broadband support from wired fiber construction toward satellite and fixed wireless.
- Making automated processing the default for non-contentious license applications.
- Moving some Media Bureau employees to offices such as the Space Bureau.
- Removing rules and practices the authors regard as legacy or unnecessary.
Ars Technica described the FCC’s Universal Service system as involving approximately $8 billion per year. The op-ed also claimed that federally mandated fees increase monthly voice-phone bills by more than 36 percent. That percentage is an advocacy claim from the authors, not an independently verified figure established by the reporting.
The Starlink connection
The satellite proposal matters commercially because Starlink is one of the most prominent providers in that market. A policy that moves public broadband support away from terrestrial construction and toward satellite services could expand the opportunity for Starlink and competing satellite operators.
That creates an appearance-of-interest question: Musk was associated with DOGE, while SpaceX operates Starlink. But the available evidence does not establish that Musk directed the op-ed, that Simington wrote it to enrich Musk, or that the FCC planned to award money to Starlink. The supported conclusion is narrower: the recommendation could benefit a company connected to a highly influential administration ally.
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Why the Universal Service proposals are consequential
The Universal Service Fund is not one single consumer program. Its components serve different purposes and different groups.
Lifeline
Lifeline helps qualifying low-income consumers afford communications service. The central problem it addresses is affordability, not simply whether a network exists nearby. A household may have technically available broadband or mobile service and still be unable to pay for it without assistance.
Replacing terrestrial options with satellite availability would therefore not automatically preserve Lifeline’s purpose. Policymakers would need to consider the retail price, equipment requirements, data limitations, indoor usability, installation, and whether eligible households can maintain service after subsidies expire.
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E-Rate supports connectivity for schools and libraries. Those institutions may need high-capacity networks for large numbers of simultaneous users, digital learning, public computer access, cloud applications, and community services. A household-grade satellite connection is not automatically an equivalent substitute for an institutional fiber connection.
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Satellite may be valuable for remote schools and libraries where terrestrial construction is prohibitively expensive, but the relevant test is actual capacity and reliability—not merely a provider’s geographic coverage.
Relay and accessibility services
Telecommunications relay programs, including IP Captioned Telephone Service, serve people with disabilities. They should not be treated as interchangeable with ordinary broadband deployment. A restructuring that combines these programs under a general effort to cut “legacy” spending could create gaps for users who depend on specialized accessibility services.
Fiber, fixed wireless and satellite are not interchangeable
The proposal’s technology debate is best understood as a choice between different strengths, rather than a simple argument that one technology has made another obsolete.
| Technology | Main strengths | Important limitations | Best-fit situations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fiber | Very high capacity, low latency, predictable performance, and strong long-term upgrade potential. | Construction can be slow and expensive, especially across sparsely populated or difficult terrain. | Dense communities, institutions, and locations where durable long-term capacity justifies construction. |
| Fixed wireless | Can deploy faster than fiber and avoid extensive trenching. | Performance depends on spectrum, terrain, tower density, line of sight, and network congestion. | Areas close enough to suitable towers and communities where terrestrial construction is difficult but feasible. |
| Satellite | Broad geographic reach and relatively rapid availability without a local wired buildout. | Capacity, latency, weather resilience, equipment, affordability, and peak-demand performance can vary. | Remote locations where fiber or towers are especially costly or slow to build. |
Fiber generally has advantages in latency, capacity, and future scalability, but that does not mean every remote fiber project is economically sensible. Conversely, a satellite connection that becomes available quickly may provide meaningful service now while offering less long-term capacity than a properly engineered terrestrial network.
A sound subsidy decision should compare the cost per newly connected location, real-world service quality, peak capacity, reliability, upgrade path, affordability, resilience, accessibility, provider competition, and the cost of continued support—not just the initial deployment date.
Could the FCC automate license applications?
Simington and Wax proposed automated workflows as the default for non-contentious license applications. Automation could reduce repetitive data entry, identify missing documents, check standardized requirements, and accelerate routine approvals.
That is different from allowing software to decide every substantive regulatory question. Applications involving interference risks, scarce spectrum, ownership concerns, national-security issues, competing applicants, or public objections may require human judgment.
A responsible automated system would need:
- Clear criteria defining which applications qualify for routine processing.
- Human escalation for unusual, disputed, or high-impact cases.
- Public notice and a meaningful opportunity to object.
- An audit trail showing which information and rules produced a decision.
- A process for correcting inaccurate data and appealing errors.
- Security controls and regular testing for inconsistent or discriminatory outcomes.
Automation can make intake and review faster, but it does not remove the need for legal accountability, agency oversight, or judicial review.
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Why the Media Bureau proposal is politically complicated
The op-ed proposed moving some Media Bureau employees to other FCC offices, including the Space Bureau, which Simington described as needing more staff in a growing area. He also argued that traditional broadcast regulation has become less central as audiences and communications markets change.
That argument creates an institutional tension. A smaller Media Bureau could make it harder to conduct traditional broadcast oversight at the same time that political leaders seek greater scrutiny of broadcasters, news coverage, network relationships, or alleged media bias.
Ars Technica reported that the proposal also sat uneasily alongside efforts involving fees paid by local stations to broadcast networks and Chairman Brendan Carr’s broader regulatory and media agenda. Reducing personnel may limit the agency’s capacity precisely when leadership wants more attention directed at the sector.
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What “DOGE the FCC” does—and does not—change
The phrase refers to applying the administration’s DOGE framework to the FCC: a smaller workforce, lower spending, fewer rules, more automation, and a narrower regulatory footprint.
It does not mean that an opinion article can itself abolish USF programs, transfer appropriated funds, eliminate an FCC bureau, or approve Starlink for subsidies. The path from advocacy to implementation would depend on the specific proposal.
- Administrative changes: FCC management may be able to alter internal workflows, staffing assignments, and some processing systems within existing authority.
- Rule changes: Changes affecting eligibility, licensing procedures, or regulatory obligations could require notice-and-comment rulemaking and commission action.
- Statutory changes: Eliminating or fundamentally redesigning programs created or governed by federal law may require Congress to amend the statute.
- Funding changes: Changes to appropriations, USF administration, or contribution mechanisms may involve Congress and other federal entities.
- Legal challenges: Major changes could face objections from consumers, providers, labor groups, accessibility advocates, states, or other parties in court.
The sequence matters. A commissioner’s recommendation is not the same as a chairman’s initiative, a proposed rule, a final rule, or a legally effective policy after litigation.
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The FCC independence question
The FCC has historically been structured as an independent agency, with its authority defined by Congress and with limits on direct presidential control. Reporting described a Trump administration executive order asserting that the FCC was no longer independent from White House control.
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That assertion should not be treated as a complete answer to the legal question. An executive order can direct executive-branch officials, but it cannot automatically repeal or override statutory provisions enacted by Congress. The effect of such an order depends on the governing statutes, constitutional principles, agency practice, and any court decisions.
The independence issue is important here because the proposals involve both agency administration and politically sensitive decisions about broadband subsidies, media oversight, and a market connected to Musk. The more directly White House priorities control those decisions, the more important transparent procedures and legally valid authority become.
The 2025 political context
When the May 12, 2025 report was published, the FCC was described as having two Republican and two Democratic commissioners, limiting major votes that required a Republican majority. Democratic Commissioner Geoffrey Starks was expected to leave, while Republican nominee Olivia Trusty was described as on track for Senate confirmation.
That lineup was a historical snapshot and should not be confused with the FCC’s membership in 2026. It nevertheless explains why a commissioner’s op-ed could function as agenda-setting rather than immediate agency policy.
The article also appeared amid a broader deregulatory push. Ars Technica reported that Chairman Carr had begun a “Delete, Delete, Delete” proceeding aimed at eliminating rules, while Congress had moved against a Biden-era E-Rate effort involving Wi-Fi hotspots for students. Those developments placed Simington’s proposal within a larger debate over the FCC’s size, mission, and role in broadband access.
How to evaluate the proposal
The strongest case for the plan is that public money should not be committed to slow, expensive construction where another technology can provide useful service sooner. Satellite and fixed wireless can be important tools, particularly in extremely remote areas.
The strongest case against a broad shift is that short-term availability can hide long-term weaknesses. A network may connect a location quickly but deliver less capacity, face congestion, require recurring subsidies, or become unaffordable when support ends. Eliminating a program because a connection exists in theory can also harm low-income households, schools, libraries, or people with disabilities.
Key questions for any eventual policy include:
- How many previously unserved locations would be connected?
- What service quality would be guaranteed during peak demand?
- Would funding support permanent infrastructure or recurring service payments?
- Could multiple providers compete for the subsidy?
- Would recipients remain able to afford service without ongoing support?
- How would the program protect accessibility and institutional connectivity?
- What safeguards would prevent political favoritism or conflicts of interest?
- What appeal and auditing rights would apply to automated decisions?
In short, “DOGE the FCC” was a blueprint for a smaller, more automated and more technology-neutral agency, with less emphasis on traditional broadcast and wired broadband programs. Whether it would improve communications policy would depend less on the slogan than on statutory authority, performance standards, funding design, institutional safeguards, and the details of implementation.
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